Emergency help button cover having personal use accessory

ABSTRACT

An elasticized styled cover sleeve, having an attached personal use accessory, covers and transforms any of a variety of personal emergency help buttons into a clothing accessory. Interchangeable differently styled cover sleeves enable matching the style of the transformed clothing accessory to a style of clothing worn by a user. An emergency button pressing portion of the cover sleeve positioned over a personal help button flexes to allow pressing the help button through the cover sleeve. Distinguishable decorative elements on the emergency button pressing portion reveal the location of the emergency button pressing portion and the personal help button beneath, when pressed, will summon help.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present utility patent application is a continuation-in-part ofapplicant's utility patent application Ser. No. 13/920,049 filed Jun.17, 2013 and claims the benefit of applicant's provisional application62/065,588 filed Oct. 17, 2014.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to personal emergency signaling devicesand in particular to personal use accessories attached to a universallyadaptable transforming styled tubular cover sleeve for transforming anypersonal emergency help button device into a familiar clothing accessorywhich provides, in combination, both an added functional element adaptedfor personal use by a wearer and a personal emergency help button deviceadapted for emergency use by a wearer to signal for emergency help,together transformed into a visually appealing and socially acceptableclothing accessory, which is interchangeable to enable a user to removeand replace the styled cover sleeve and personal use accessory with adifferently styled cover sleeve and personal use accessory to match thestyle of clothing of the wearer to encourage wearing the transformedcombination clothing accessory at all times for the safety and securityof the wearer for using the personal use accessory as well as being ableto signal for emergency help whenever it is needed to save the homes andlives of the many people who often do not wear their emergency personalhelp button devices because of the stigma associated with the devicesand the unattractive medical appearance of the devices which do not fitwith any style of clothing.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37CFR 1.97 and 1.98

Men and women ages 65 and older are living independently and wanting tostay at home. Ten thousand people in the US turn 65 each day; the babyboomers are here. Of the people over 65 years of age, 33% will fallevery year and 50% will fall again. Long lie times increase thelikelihood of a adverse outcome in which 33% will not be able to returnto the homes they love so dearly. There are 54 million people in the USA65+ and there will be 62.7 million in 2017. A huge number of agingpeople worldwide face a similar situation.

For any person in danger of experiencing any medical emergency or otheremergency, the person is usually provided with an emergency PersonalHelp Button (PHB) device normally worn on the person hanging from a cordaround the neck of the person, on a strap around the wrist of theperson, or on a clip-on attachment to the belt of the person. The devicenormally consists of a plastic case with a large button located on theface of the case to push to signal emergency response services toprovide immediate emergency help to the person in need pressing thebutton. The case with the rather large button is clearly an emergencyhelp button which does not resemble any accessories normally worn byother people, and is therefore a socially unacceptable stigma and asignal that the person wearing the emergency help button may be weak andvulnerable.

Many people, especially women (who are the vast majority of PersonalEmergency Response Service customers), do not want to wear the PersonalHelp Button (PHB) since it looks unattractive and looks like a medicalalert button and can signal to them and others that they are weak andfrail. Often people have the service but don't wear the PHB since itlooks “ugly” or casts a social stigma or signal of vulnerability toothers; therefore they don't have the PHB when they need it and couldpossible suffer serious health difficulties or even death becauseemergency help will not be sent when it is needed. If a person falls andlies on the floor without the necessary emergency medical response helpfor an hour or more, if that person survives, often that person neverfully recovers and cannot return to that person's home, but that personmust live in some kind of heath care facility.

Prior art devices generally do not take into consideration theimportance of providing an emergency help button that people willactually wear all of the time to insure that they can activate theemergency help button to receive emergency help when it is in range inthe home whenever and wherever it is needed. A few signaling deviceshave been fabricated into other things so they are not seen, but theprior art fails to produce a more universal solution to insure thateveryone who has an emergency help button device can transform it intosomething they will feel comfortable wearing all of the time. Nor dothey provide emergency help button device covers with personal useaccessories to transform the emergency help button device and personaluse accessory into an attractive style clothing accessory that they willwant to wear all of the time.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,160, issued Oct. 17, 1978 to Cataldo is for aminiature concealable radio alarm transmitter to be worn on the person,a switch means to activate the transmitter. The transmitter ispreferably flat in shape, and includes a small battery which extendsacross the end of the circuit board. Two spring contact members extendadjacent each end of the battery, which has button-type terminals on itsends. A soft sponge elastomer spacer is fitted between each contactmember and its end of the battery. The spacer has a central hole. Fingerpressure against either spring member forces it toward the adjacentbattery terminal to make contact therewith. To connect the battery tothe circuit and energize the alarm transmitter, both spring members mustbe squeezed toward each other from opposite sides of the transmitter,making contact with each battery terminal. It is thus difficult toaccidentally activate the transmitter. The switch means comprises twoswitches in series. The whole device is preferably cased in a bag-likeenclosure of soft flexible material with a cord adapted to be hungaround the wearer's neck.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,129, issued Nov. 10, 1981 to Cataldo, illustrates aconcealable signaling, e.g., radio alarm, device worn on the person andactuated by concealed switch means that include mechanical detents. Theengagement of the detents provides secret tactile information back tothe wearer. The presently preferred embodiment is a miniature radioalarm transmitter concealed in a device which also serves as a beltbuckle. The wearer distends his waist to actuate the transmitter.Tension in the belt moves an element through one or more detentengagements before it activates the transmitter. These detentengagements make transient changes in the belt tension which are felt bythe wearer; these inform the wearer of impending activation, sopreventing false transmitter signals or alarms.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,749, issued Sep. 8, 1987 to Bussing, provides awearable alarm, which can be in the form of a religious cross, jewelryor decorative article or the like, normally found on the user's person,which, through simple sliding action, achieves completion of a containedelectrical circuitry and the energization of an audible signalingdevice. Entry to the operative components may be achieved in any manner,depending on the article in which the alarm is presented and,additionally, the audible alarm varied to provide a warning at anypre-selected distance from the wearer.

U.S. Pat. No. D542,165, issued May 8, 2007 to Ayr-Popowski, shows adesign for a heart-shaped pendant with reverse side having concealedalarm transmitter.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,570 (and U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,746), issued May 30,1995 to Leitten, et al, describes a personal alarm which is compact,portable and fashionably designed. In one embodiment, this personalalarm is structurally incorporated into a wrist watch with the alarmcomponents arranged thereon in a fanciful yet highly functional manner.This alarm may also be structurally incorporated into other conventionalitems such as a bracelet, pendant, necklace, keychain ornament, or anyother conventional item which is often carried by the persons to beprotected. In a further embodiment, the compact size is achieved withoutsacrificing intensity in the alarm signal by incorporating a speciallywound autotransformer and an efficient switching device so as to providea tuned warbling signal upon a piezoelectric transducer. Additionally,the alarm may be activated or deactivated by manually actuating anactuator, such as a switch or plurality of switches, in a particularsequence.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,970, issued Jan. 1, 1985 to LaWhite, et al., putsforth a small portable radio transmitter unit which can be worn on thewrist or suspended from a neck chain to provide immediate access in theevent of an emergency condition and without interfering with the normalday-to-day activities of the wearer. The unit is contained within awatertight housing having a resilient membrane depressible by fingerpressure to actuate a button switch within the housing for actuation ofthe transmitter. The housing is vented to the atmosphere to provideequalization of internal and ambient pressure in a manner providingisolation from water or other liquid entry to thereby maintain awatertight enclosure.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,668,528, issued Jun. 6, 1972 to Hutchinson, et al,concerns a housing assembly for miniature radio apparatus, such as aradio pager, having a molded frame member which supports the chassis andforms one end and two opposite sides of a housing. A U-shaped covermember slides in grooves in the frame member to form the other end andthe other two sides of the housing, thereby providing a completelyenclosed housing. Space for a battery is provided adjacent the end ofthe housing formed by the frame member, and the cover can slide withrespect to the frame member to open the housing at that end to affordaccess to the battery. A detent is provided on the frame member whichengages the cover member to hold the cover completely closed. A clip forholding the radio apparatus in a pocket includes a button to release thedetent to permit the cover to slide for access to the battery. A seconddetent prevents further movement of the cover with respect to thehousing preventing access to the radio chassis, with a key beingrequired to release the second detent for removal of the cover from theframe member. Both single use and rechargeable batteries can be used,and contacts are provided in the housing for connecting the rechargeablebattery to a charger.

U.S. Patent Application #20120212339, published Aug. 23, 2012 byGoldblatt, describes a transmitter, GPS, clock and, optionally, amicrophone, video camera and identification signal means, and healthmonitoring sensors that are housed in personal articles such as apendant, a watch, a ring, mobile telephone, or other personal article.The article is disguised to look like it does not have all or some ofsaid features, and is provided with a switching device, preferablyoperable with one hand, to turn the transmitter on. Preferably, theswitching device has two switching elements which require simultaneousoperation to energize the transmitter, so as to minimize false alarms.The method of use includes selecting the best-suited type oftransmitter, causing emergency personnel to be prepared to act whenreceiving transmission from the alarm device, and advising users oncarrying the modified personal article when protection is desired.

What is needed is a universally applicable device combining a styledpersonal emergency help button cover and personal use accessory that canbe installed on any emergency help button device to transform theemergency help button device into a normally worn styled clothingaccessory which is acceptable and attractive to the person in need andto others to insure that everyone who has an emergency help buttondevice can transform it into something they will feel comfortablewearing all of the time for the convenience of the personal useaccessory and the security of the personal emergency help button device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a universallyapplicable device combining a styled personal emergency help buttoncover and personal use accessory that can be installed on any emergencyhelp button device to transform the emergency help button device into anormally worn styled clothing accessory which is acceptable andattractive to the person in need to insure that everyone who has anemergency help button device can transform it into something they willfeel comfortable wearing all of the time for the convenience of thepersonal use accessory and the security of the personal emergency helpbutton device, and thereby save the homes and save the lives of peoplewho should be wearing an emergency personal help button device at alltimes to signal for emergency help when needed.

A corollary object of the present invention is to provide a combineddecorative stretchable tubular sleeve and personal use accessoryconfigured to be adjustably and interchangeably installed over and coverany of a variety of personal emergency help button devices of variousshapes and sizes and having various means of attachment to transform thepersonal emergency help button and housing into a commonly worn clothingaccessory which is attractive and acceptable to the user and to othersso that the transformed clothing accessory covering the help button willbe worn by the user at all times.

Another related object of the present invention is to provide aninterchangeable styled cover sleeve and personal use accessory to enablea user to remove and replace the styled cover sleeve and personal useaccessory with a differently styled cover sleeve and personal useaccessory to match the style of clothing of the wearer to encouragewearing the transformed clothing accessory covering the transformedpersonal emergency help button at all times.

One more object of the present invention is to provide interchangeablecover sleeves and personal use accessories which are styled for specialoccasions or events or locations such as holiday themed cover sleeves,sports and arts themed cover sleeves, and birthday or other occasionthemed cover sleeves.

An added object of the present invention is to provide a personal helpbutton cover sleeve and personal use accessory using washable materialwhich allows removal and cleaning of the material and allows theconverted personal help button with the cover sleeve around it to beworn in the shower or bath or swimming so that the personal help buttonmay be worn by the user at all times so that the personal help button isalways available to signal for emergency help when needed.

A related object of the present invention is provide that any appliquéson the outer surface of the personal help button cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory are attached by waterproof means includingwaterproof adhesives or sewing or other waterproof connecting means sothat the transformed personal help button device may be worn by the userat all times.

In brief, the present invention provides an elasticized stretchableinterchangeable styled cover sleeve and attached personal use accessory,the cover sleeve formed of stretchable tubular material in a variety ofstyles and colors with a variety of personal use accessories to attachto the cover sleeve. The combined cover sleeve and personal useaccessory cover and camouflage any of a wide variety of emergencypersonal help button devices to transform the personal help buttondevices into a styled clothing accessory to match the style of clothingbeing worn by a user so that the user will always wear the transformedstyled clothing accessory and be able to make use of the personal useaccessory at all times and be able to push the personal help buttonwhenever and wherever it is needed.

Preferably a styled cover sleeve may be fabricated in the form of ahighly stretchable thin SPANDEX material in the shape of a tube with astretchable opening at each end, made in various styles, colors,patterns, imprints, insignia, characters, logos, and other decorativeexterior features which is universal to fit interchangeably on mostemergency personal help button devices, with a limited number ofdifferent shapes and sizes for extreme shapes and sizes of personal helpbutton devices. Various decorative and personal use accessories can beapplied to the cover sleeve by waterproof attachment means. A buttonpressing portion of the cover sleeve positioned over the personal helpbutton may be indicated by a visual or tactile surface of the coversleeve or a decorative attachment on the button pressing portion of thecover sleeve. The material of the cover sleeve is sufficiently thin andflexible, at least over the button pressing portion, so that the ridgesor indent of the actual pressable portion of the personal help buttoncan be felt through the cover sleeve under the button pressing portion.

An emergency button pressing portion of the cover sleeve positioned overa personal help button flexes to allow pressing the help button throughthe cover sleeve or provides a protruding solid element to assist inpressing the help button below the solid element, or a screen portionwith the help button visible below the screen portion, or a cut-out withthe help button exposed through the cut-out. Distinguishable decorativeelements or other features as described above, on the emergency buttonpressing portion reveal the location of the emergency button pressingportion and the personal help button beneath, when pressed, will summonhelp.

The styled cover sleeve and personal use accessory of the presentinvention can transform all types of personal help button (PHB) devicesused for service with Personal Emergency Response Systems/Services(PERS) including the personal help button device on a pendant (mostpopular) transformed into a necklace, on a wristband transformed into abracelet, on a key ring transformed into a decorative key ring and on abelt clip transformed into a styled belt clip.

There are a variety of textures, colors, visual features, accessoriesand other utility and decorative attachments representing six majorgeneral configurations associated with the button pushing portion of thestyled cover. The most complex is a the iron-on decal cover in which aninverted snap is installed on the inside of the cover and on the frontthe cover where the “teeth or prongs” are bent into the fabric aniron-on decal cover is installed over the teeth or prongs. That way whena senior or disabled person presses the iron-on decal (on the front ofthe cover) (white dot also) to make it very easy to locate and press thepress button portion of the help button.

There are at least six generally preferred embodiments of the buttonpushing portion of the present invention: rhinestone embellishments topush, fun iron-on themes with an inverted snap to facilitate pushing thebutton, see-through fabric for visually locating the help button, diecut push button hole in the covers, a white dot iron-on press buttonvisual indicator over the emergency push button, and a selection ofdecorative covers of thin resilient material to feel the emergency pushbutton through the cover; providing a wide variety to suit most of thesenior needs.

The covers of the present invention can be fabricated in a variety ofsizes to accommodate any variations in various brands of medical alertdevices in a large assortment of colors and patterns.

Custom cover sleeve pouches for small GPS-mobile devices make them lookmore like a decorative accessory. The pouch is fabricated in manystyles, colors, and with embellishments or iron-on decals as well as apersonal use accessory. The mobile solution uses GPS & cellulartechnology and can be used anywhere there is cellular service for amobile decorative accessory which can be used for emergency situations.

An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a means toensure that people will always want to wear their transformed clothingaccessory with the personal use accessory and camouflaged personal helpbutton so they can have necessary daily use items on hand always and beable to get help in emergency situations when to needed to enable peopleto maintain their ability to reside in their home in ahealth-threatening emergency by responding instantly for emergency helpwhen needed.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a widevariety of designer styles and colors of personal help button coversleeves and personal use accessories.

An added advantage of the present invention is that it provides apersonal help button cover sleeve using soft flexible thin material onat least one button pressing portion of the cover sleeve to enable thepersonal help button to be easily pressed through the button pressingportion of the sleeve.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the covers andpersonal use accessories of the present invention are designer medicalalert help button covers that transform the ugly help button into adecorative accessory like jewelry.

Still another advantage is that the present invention transforms thehelp button and makes the emergency personal help butten device looknice and fun and socially acceptable to give the senior or disabledperson “confidence” and help that person feel more attractive.

An ensuing advantage of the present invention is that it is washable andcan be worn in the shower or bath or swimming so that the personal helpbutton may be worn by the user at all times so that the personal helpbutton is always available to signal for emergency help when needed.

A related advantage of the present invention is that waterproofattachments of any appliqués or embroidered design or initial on theouter surface of the personal help button cover and personal useaccessory further ensure that the personal help button may be worn bythe user at all times.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other details of the present invention will be described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only byway of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in whichdrawings:

FIG. 1A is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a decorative button mounted on thedecorative fabric of the cover sleeve and showing an emergency personalhelp button housing being inserted into the cover sleeve with a partialview of the neck cord attached to the top of the emergency personal helpbutton housing;

FIG. 1B is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 1Ashowing the emergency help button device (shown dashed) completelyconcealed inside the cover sleeve with the neck cord from the emergencypersonal help button device protruding out of the cover sleeve topopening, thereby concealing and camouflaging the personal help buttondevice and transforming the personal help button device into a commonclothing accessory in the form of a decorative necklace pendant with thedecorative button of the cover sleeve positioned directly over thebutton pressing portion of the cover sleeve above the help button toenable a user to locate, visually or tactilely, the button pressingportion of the cover sleeve to push for depressing the help buttonbeneath it;

FIG. 2A is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a decorative jewel mounted on thedecorative fabric of the cover sleeve and showing an emergency personalhelp button housing being inserted into the cover sleeve with a partialview of the wrist band attached to the personal help button housing;

FIG. 2B is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 2Ashowing the emergency personal help button device (shown dashed)completely concealed inside the cover sleeve with the wrist band fromthe emergency personal help button device protruding out of the coversleeve top and bottom openings, thereby concealing and camouflaging thepersonal help button device and transforming the personal help buttondevice into a common clothing accessory in the form of a decorativebracelet with the decorative jewel of the cover sleeve positioneddirectly over the button pressing portion of the cover sleeve above thehelp button to enable a user to locate, visually or tactilely, thebutton pressing portion of the cover sleeve to push for depressing thehelp button beneath it, wherein the decorative element, such as thejewel, is smaller than the help button itself so the decorative elementdoes not interfere with pressing the help button effectively;

FIG. 3A is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a decorative pendant or locket or charmmounted on the decorative fabric of the cover sleeve and showing anemergency personal help button device being inserted into the coversleeve with a partial view of the neck cord attached a top loop of theemergency personal help button housing;

FIG. 3B is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 3Ashowing the emergency personal help button device (shown dashed)completely concealed inside the cover sleeve with the top loop and theneck cord from the emergency personal help button device protruding outof the cover sleeve top opening, thereby concealing and camouflaging thepersonal help button device and transforming the personal help buttondevice into a common clothing accessory in the form of a decorativenecklace pendant with the decorative pendant or locket or charm of thecover sleeve positioned directly over the button pressing portion of thecover sleeve over the help button to enable a user to locate, visuallyor tactilely, the button pressing portion of the cover sleeve to pushfor depressing the help button beneath it;

FIG. 4A is a side elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing an emergency personal help button housingbeing inserted into the cover sleeve with a belt clip attached to thepersonal help button housing remaining outside of the cover sleeve;

FIG. 4B is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a sports image of a football imprinted orembroidered or adhered as a patch on the decorative fabric of the coversleeve and showing the emergency personal help button housing beinginserted into the cover sleeve;

FIG. 4C is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIGS. 4A and4B showing the emergency personal help button device (shown dashed)completely concealed inside the cover sleeve with the top and bottom ofthe belt clip of the emergency personal help button device seen behindthe cover sleeve, thereby concealing and camouflaging the personal helpbutton device and transforming the personal help button device into acommon clothing accessory in the form of a belt clip with the sportsimage on the cover sleeve positioned directly over the button pressingportion of the cover sleeve over the help button to enable a user tolocate the button pressing portion of the cover sleeve to push fordepressing the help button beneath it;

FIG. 5A is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a car company logo or emblem embroideredon or as a patch ironed or sewn onto the decorative fabric of the coversleeve and showing an emergency personal help button housing beinginserted into the cover sleeve with a partial view of the key chainattached to the top of the emergency personal help button housing andshowing the two side emergency help buttons on opposing side edges ofthe housing which are pushed simultaneously;

FIG. 5B is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 5Ashowing the emergency help button device (shown dashed) completelyconcealed inside the cover sleeve with the key chain from the emergencypersonal help button device protruding out of the cover sleeve topopening, thereby concealing and camouflaging the personal help buttondevice and transforming the personal help button device into a commonclothing accessory in the form of a decorative key fob on a key chainwith the two side edge emergency help buttons causing the cover sleeveto stick out on both sides due to the emergency help buttons protrudingfrom the housing to stretch outwardly revealing the location of theemergency help buttons through the cover sleeve to enable a user tolocate, visually or tactilely, the button pressing portions of the coversleeve to push for depressing the help buttons beneath them;

FIG. 6A is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a heart-shaped locket mounted on thedecorative fabric of the cover sleeve and showing an emergency personalhelp button housing being inserted into the cover sleeve with a partialview of the wrist band attached to the personal help button housing andfurther showing two cover sleeve tubular accessories for covering thewrist band on each side of the emergency help button device housing;

FIG. 6B is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 6Ashowing the emergency personal help button device (shown dashed)completely concealed inside the cover sleeve and the wrist band coveredby the two cover sleeve tubular accessories, thereby concealing andcamouflaging the personal help button device and transforming thepersonal help button device into a common clothing accessory in the formof a decorative bracelet with the heart-shaped locket of the coversleeve positioned directly over the button pressing portion of the coversleeve above the help button to enable a user to locate, visually ortactilely, the button pressing portion of the cover sleeve to push fordepressing the help button beneath it, wherein the heart-shaped locketdecorative element is smaller than the help button itself so thedecorative element does not interfere with pressing the help buttoneffectively;

FIG. 7A is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a decorative pendant or locket or charmmounted on the decorative fabric of the cover sleeve and showing anemergency personal help button device being inserted into the coversleeve with a partial view of the neck cord attached a top loop of theemergency personal help button housing;

FIG. 7B is a front elevational view of the transforming cover sleeve ofthe present invention showing a decorative pendant or locket or charmmounted on the decorative fabric of the cover sleeve and showing anemergency personal help button device being inserted into the coversleeve with a partial view of the neck cord attached a top loop of theemergency personal help button housing;

FIG. 7C is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 3Ashowing the emergency personal help button device (shown dashed)completely concealed inside the cover sleeve with the top loop and theneck cord from the emergency personal help button device protruding outof the cover sleeve top opening, thereby concealing and camouflaging thepersonal help button device and transforming the personal help buttondevice into a common clothing accessory in the form of a decorativenecklace pendant with the decorative pendant or locket or charm of thecover sleeve positioned directly over the button pressing portion of thecover sleeve over the help button to enable a user to locate, visuallyor tactilely, the button pressing portion of the cover sleeve to pushfor depressing the help button beneath it;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the cover sleevefabricated of thin resilient material to enable a user to feel theemergency push button through the cover for pushing the button whenneeded;

FIG. 9A is a side elevational partial section view of the cover sleeveof the present invention housing an emergency help button device, thecover sleeve having an iron-on decal tactile insignia ironed on thecover sleeve fabric with an inverted snap or other solid thin metal discon the inside of the cover in the center of the button pushing portion,where a number of teeth or prongs pierce the fabric from the inside andare bent over the front of the fabric and the tactile insignia is ironedon over that;

FIG. 9B is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 9Ahousing an emergency help button device;

In FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of thepresent invention housing an emergency help button device, the coversleeve having a white dot iron-on press button on the cover sleevesurface within the button pushing portion to serve as a visual (andtactile) indicator over the emergency push button to enable findingpressing the emergency help button when needed;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the cover sleevehaving a see-through fabric for visually locating the help buttonenables accurate locating and pushing of the emergency help buttonthrough the highly flexible stretch mesh or other patterned cover withmore open space than fabric;

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the cover sleevehaving a die cut push button hole in alignment with the casingsurrounding the emergency help button leavisc a full-open visual andmanual contact with the emergency help button 30 through the coversleeve fabric;

FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the cover sleevehaving a rhinestone embellishment attached in the center of the buttonpushing portion to enable a user to easily see and feel the location topush the rhinestone which pushes the emeregency help button beneath it;

FIG. 14 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the cover sleevehaving a pouch with a top opening hanging downwardly from the coversleeve by a jump ring and to act as a small light change purse, thedecorative pouch of the same design as the cover which can contain, key,medicine, money, ID, credit card, etc, the cover sleeve further having anecklace, such as a decorative chain necklace or lanyard is attached toa top of the cover sleeve for attaching the combination cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory and covered emergency help button device around aneck of a user;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the cover sleevehaving a loop sleeve attached to the center of the back of the coversleeve to receive a bracelet or wrist band attached to the cover sleevefor attaching the combination cover sleeve and personal use accessoryand covered emergency help button device to a wrist of a user;

FIG. 16 is a side elevational partial section view of the cover sleeveof the present invention housing an emergency help button device, thecover sleeve having a jump ring attached to the bottom of the coversleeve to attach a chain or other connecting means to the jump ring forattaching keys or a change purse or other personal user accessories tothe cover sleeve housing the emergency personal help device;

FIG. 17 is a side elevational partial section view of the cover sleeveof the present invention housing an emergency help button device, thecover sleeve having a pocket with a top opening attached to the coversleeve on a back surface of the cover sleeve for storing necessary dailyuse items carried by a user;

FIG. 18 is a side elevational partial section view of the cover sleeveof the present invention housing an emergency help button device, thecover sleeve having an alternate pocket with a top opening has a clearplastic face on the pocket to allow an ID or photo to show through thepocket;

FIG. 19 is a side elevational partial section view of the cover sleeveof the present invention housing an emergency help button device, thecover sleeve having a bracket sleeve attached to a top portion of theback of the cover sleeve for attaching the combination cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory and covered emergency help button device to abelt worn by a user;

FIG. 20 is a side elevational partial section view of the cover sleeveof the present invention housing an emergency help button device, thecover sleeve having a loop bracket attached to the top of the back of acover sleeve for receiving a keychain attached to the loop bracket sothat the styled cover sleeve and personal use accessory comprises astyled keychain fob;

FIG. 21 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of the presentinvention housing an emergency help button device, the pouch-type ofcover sleeve with a single top opening is aligned to receive a mobiledevice which is a medical alert device that use GPS & cellulartechnology;

FIG. 22 is a front elevational view of the cover sleeve of FIG. 21, thepouch-type cover sleeve covering the mobile device which is a medicalalert device that use GPS & cellular technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1A-13, an adaptable cover sleeve 10 covers and camouflages anyof a variety of emergency personal help button devices 20A-20D andtransforms each personal help button device into a familiar clothingaccessory which is visually appealing and socially acceptable toencourage wearing the clothing accessory at all times for the safety andsecurity of a wearer to enable the wearer to signal for emergency helpwhenever it is needed.

In FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7A and 7B the cover sleeve 10comprises a decorative stretchable tubular cover sleeve, having adecorative styled outer surface 8 and expansible end openings 11, thetubular cover sleeve configured to be adjustable, removable, andinterchangeable when installed over any of a variety of emergencypersonal help button devices 20A-20E to cover and camouflage eachpersonal help button device and transform the personal help buttondevice into a familiar clothing accessory, as shown in FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B,4C, 5B, 6B, and 7C, which is visually appealing and socially acceptableto be worn by a user at all times.

The adjustable, removable, and interchangeable tubular cover sleeve 10enables the user to remove and interchange the cover sleeve with anotherdifferently styled cover sleeve to transform the personal help buttondevice into another familiar clothing accessory having a different styleto match another style of clothing of the user, to encourage wearing thetransformed decorative clothing accessory at all times so the personalhelp button 30 is always available to the user to press for emergencyhelp when needed.

The cover sleeve 10 further comprises a button pressing portion 9 of thecover sleeve positioned over a compressible help button 30 on thepersonal emergency help button device, as shown in FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4C,5B, 6B, and 7C, to enable the user wearing the transformed device topress the help button 30 through the button pressing portion 9 of thecover sleeve to summon emergency help. The button pressing portion 9 isan easily compressible portion of the cover sleeve which is directlyover the personal help button, and may be a thin flexible portion of thecover sleeve or the entire cover sleeve may be fabricated of a thinflexible material.

In FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7A and 7B, the cover sleeve 10preferably comprises a styled tubular cover sleeve 10 having an outersurface 8 simulating a styled clothing accessory to match a clothingstyle worn by a user, the styled tubular cover sleeve 10 fabricated ofstretch material smaller than the outer perimeter of the emergencypersonal help button device 20A-20E so that the styled tubular coversleeve stretches open at an end opening 11, as shown by the horizontalarrows, to receive the emergency personal help button device 20A-20Einserted within the styled tubular cover sleeve and the cover sleeve 10contracts closed over the emergency personal help button device so thatthe emergency personal help button device (dashed lines) is concealedwithin the styled tubular cover sleeve 10 transforming the emergencypersonal help button device into a visually appealing styled clothingaccessory matching a clothing style of a user to be worn by a user atall times, as shown in FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, 4C, 5B, 6B, and 7C. The buttonpressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve 10 is preferably provided with adistinguishable feature to enable a user to find the button pressingportion 9 easily when needed.

The styled tubular cover sleeve 10 is fabricated of any of a variety ofdifferent materials taken from a list of different materials includingSPANDEX, LYCRA, NEOPRENE, NYLON, ELASTANE, a stretchable blend ofmaterials, rubber, stretchable cotton, woven fabric material combinedwith at least one stretchable end opening 11, stretchable silk, silkmaterial combined with at least one stretchable end opening 11,stretchable velvet, velvet material combined with at least onestretchable end opening 11, stretchable satin, satin with at least onestretchable end opening 11.

The styled tubular cover sleeve 10 comprises any of a variety of outersurfaces taken from the list of outer surfaces including a coloredsurface, a patterned surface, an indicia bearing surface, an imagebearing surface, a textured surface, an imprinted surface, a combinedsurface, a natural fabric surface, a styled surface, a coated surface, apainted surface, a metallic surface, a rumpled surface, a paddedsurface, an embroidered surface, an iron-on patch surface and/or sewn-onpatch surface.

The styled tubular cover sleeve 10 further comprises at least onepersonal adornment attached to the outer surface taken from a list ofpersonal adornments including at least one flat ornamental bead, atleast one sequin, at least one ornamental button 12 (shown in FIGS. 1Aand 1B), at least one pendant 14 (shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B), at leastone locket (19 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B), at least one piece of jewelry13 (shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B), at least one charm, insignia 15 (shown inFIGS. 4B and 4C), sparkles, metallic thread, embroidery, mesh, netting,lace, hanging dangles 18, jump rings 7, chains 6, and beads 4 (shown inFIG. 3B), at least one decorative hanging chain 6, at least one jumpring 7 and at least one clear faceted stone 5 (shown in FIG. 1B), andany other decorative element.

The styled tubular cover sleeve 10 is fabricated of a material that candry easily after getting wet to enable washing the material and toenable wearing the emergency help button 30 with the cover sleeve in ashower or bath and in inclement weather so that the emergency button 30may be worn at all times by the user.

The styled clothing accessory may further comprise any of the followingmeans for supporting the styled clothing accessory on the body of awearer, including a neck encircling element 40 so that the styledclothing accessory comprises a styled necklace worn by a user, as shownin FIGS. 1B and 3B; a wrist encircling element 50 such as a wrist bandso that the styled clothing accessory comprises a styled bracelet wornby a user as shown in FIG. 2B, a clip 60 for attachment to an article ofclothing or attachment to a clothing accessory so that the styledclothing accessory comprises a styled clip-on clothing accessory such asa styled belt clip, as shown in FIG. 4C, and a decorative key fob on akey chain 70, as shown in FIG. 5B.

The cover sleeve 10 preferably further comprises a distinguishableelement positioned on the button pressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve10 over the personal help button 30 to indicate to a user where to presson the cover sleeve to activate the personal help button 30 underneaththe distinguishable element to signal for emergency help, thedistinguishable element having a size and shape equal to or smaller thanthe personal help button 30 to insure that the user will push only thepersonal help button 30 and not push any other part of a casing orhousing surrounding the personal help button.

The distinguishable element comprises at least one visible element takenfrom the list of visible elements including at least one printedindicia, at least one embroidered indicia, at least one attachment, atleast one pattern variation, at least one color variation, at least oneshape variation, at least one texture variation distinguishing thebutton pressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve 10.

The distinguishable element may comprise at least one tactile elementtaken from the list of tactile elements including at least one tactilefabric variation, at least one texture variation, at least one addedtactile material, at least one tactile decorative element, at least onetactile functional element.

The cover distinguishable element may comprise at least one audibleelement taken from the list of audible elements including at least onesound producing finger heat sensing element, at least one soundproducing finger sensing light sensor element, at least one soundproducing finger detecting proximity sensing element.

The distinguishable element may comprise at least one combinationelement taken from the list of combination elements including at leastone visible element combined with at least one audible element, at leastone visible element combined with at least one tactile element, at leastone audible element combined with at least one tactile element, and atleast one visible element combined with at least one audible element andat least one tactile element.

The at least one visible element combined with at least one tactileelement may comprise at least one personal adornment, attached to thebutton pressing portion 9 on an outer surface 8 of the tubular coversleeve 10, taken from a list of personal adornments including at leastone flat ornamental bead, at least one sequin, at least one ornamentalbutton 12 as shown in FIG. 1B, at least one pendant or least one locketor at least one charm as shown in FIG. 3B, at least one tactile insignia15 as shown in FIG. 4C, sparkles, metallic thread, embroidery, mesh,netting, lace, the at least one decorative element being smaller thanthe emergency button 30 to permit ease of pressing the emergency buttonwithout contacting a casing holding the button.

In FIG. 1A, a decorative button 12 is mounted on the decorative fabric 8of the cover sleeve 10 and the emergency personal help button housing20A is being inserted into the cover sleeve 10 with a partial view ofthe neck cord 40 attached to the top of the emergency personal helpbutton housing.

In FIG. 1B, the emergency help button device 20A (shown dashed) iscompletely concealed inside the cover sleeve 10 with the neck cord 40from the emergency personal help button device protruding out of thecover sleeve top opening 11, thereby concealing and camouflaging thepersonal help button device and transforming the personal help buttondevice into a common clothing accessory in the form of a decorativenecklace pendant with the decorative button 12 of the cover sleevepositioned directly over the button pressing portion 9 of the coversleeve aligned with and above the help button 30 to enable a user tolocate, visually or tactilely, the button pressing portion 9 of thecover sleeve to push for depressing the help button 30 beneath it.Hanging decorations are shown extending down from the bottom of thecover sleeve including a plurality of jump rings or jump loops 7 anddecorative chains 6 and gem stones 5.

In FIG. 2A, a decorative jewelry 13 setting is mounted on the decorativefabric 8 of the cover sleeve 10 and an emergency personal help buttondevice 20B is being inserted into the cover sleeve 10 with a wrist band50 attached to the personal help button device.

In FIG. 2B, the emergency personal help button device 20B (shown dashed)is completely concealed inside the cover sleeve 10 with the wrist band50 from the emergency personal help button device protruding out of thecover sleeve top and bottom openings 11, thereby concealing andcamouflaging the personal help button device and transforming thepersonal help button device into a common clothing accessory in the formof a decorative bracelet with the decorative jewelry 13 of the coversleeve positioned directly over the button pressing portion 9 of thecover sleeve above the emergency personal help button 30 to enable auser to locate, visually or tactilely, the button pressing portion 9 ofthe cover sleeve to push for depressing the help button 30 beneath it.The decorative element, the jewelry 13, is smaller than the help button30 itself so the decorative element does not interfere with pressing thehelp button effectively.

In FIG. 3A, a decorative pendant 14 or locket or charm is mounted on thedecorative fabric outer surface 8 of the cover sleeve 10 and anemergency personal help button device 20C is being inserted into thecover sleeve 10 with a partial view of the neck cord 40 attached a toploop 21 of the emergency personal help button housing.

In FIG. 3B, the emergency personal help button device 20C (shown dashed)is completely concealed inside the cover sleeve 10 with the top loop 21and the neck cord 40 from the emergency personal help button deviceprotruding out of the cover sleeve top opening 11, thereby concealingand camouflaging the personal help button device and transforming thepersonal help button device into a common clothing accessory in the formof a decorative necklace pendant with the decorative pendant 14 orlocket or charm of the cover sleeve positioned directly over the buttonpressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve over the help button 30 to enablea user to locate, visually or tactilely, the button pressing portion 9of the cover sleeve to push for depressing the help button 30 beneathit.

In FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, an emergency personal help button device 20D isbeing inserted into the cover sleeve 10 with a belt clip 60 attached tothe personal help button housing remaining outside of the cover sleeve.

In FIG. 4B, a sports image of a football tactile insignia 15 isimprinted or embroidered or adhered as a patch or ironed on as a heatpatch on the front of the decorative fabric 8 of the cover sleeve.

In FIG. 4C, the emergency personal help button device 20D (shown dashed)is completely concealed inside the cover sleeve 10 with the top andbottom of the belt clip 60 of the emergency personal help button deviceseen behind the cover sleeve, thereby concealing and camouflaging thepersonal help button device 20D and transforming the personal helpbutton device into a common clothing accessory in the form of a beltclip with the sports image tactile insignia 15 on the cover sleevepositioned directly over the button pressing portion 9 of the coversleeve over the help button 30 to enable a user to locate the buttonpressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve, tactilely and visually, to pushfor depressing the help button 30 beneath it.

In FIG. 5A, a car company logo or emblem 17 is embroidered on or as apatch ironed or sewn onto the decorative fabric outer surface 8 of thecover sleeve 10 and an emergency personal help button device 20E isbeing inserted into the cover sleeve with a key chain 70 attached to thetop of the emergency personal help button device and two side emergencyhelp buttons 30 on opposing side edges of the device which are pushedsimultaneously.

In FIG. 5B, the emergency help button device 20E (shown dashed) iscompletely concealed inside the cover sleeve 10 with the key chain 70from the emergency personal help button device protruding out of thecover sleeve top opening 11, thereby concealing and camouflaging thepersonal help button device and transforming the personal help buttondevice into a common clothing accessory in the form of a decorative keyfob on a key chain with the two side edge emergency help buttons 30causing the cover sleeve to stick out on both sides due to the emergencyhelp buttons protruding from the housing to stretch outwardly revealingthe location of the emergency help buttons through the cover sleeve onbutton pressing portions 9 of the cover sleeve to enable a user tolocate, visually or tactilely, the button pressing portions 9 of thecover sleeve to push for depressing the help buttons 30 beneath them.

In FIG. 6A, a heart-shaped locket 19 is mounted on the decorative fabric8 of the cover sleeve 10 and an emergency personal help button device20B is being inserted into the cover sleeve and a wrist band 50 isattached to the personal help button device. Two cover sleeve tubularaccessories 10A are used for covering the wrist band 50 on each side ofthe emergency help button device, preferably fabricated of soft cottonfor contact with the skin of the user rather than the plastic wristband.

In FIG. 6B, the emergency personal help button device 20B (shown dashed)is completely concealed inside the cover sleeve 10 and the wrist band 50is covered by the two cover sleeve tubular accessories 10A, therebyconcealing and camouflaging the personal help button device andtransforming the personal help button device into a common clothingaccessory in the form of a decorative bracelet with the heart-shapedlocket 19 of the cover sleeve positioned directly over the buttonpressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve above the emergency personal helpbutton 30 to enable a user to locate, visually or tactilely, the buttonpressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve to push for depressing the helpbutton 30 beneath it, wherein the heart-shaped locket 19 decorativeelement is smaller than the help button 30 itself so the decorativeelement does not interfere with pressing the help button effectively.The heart shaped locket 19 is an example of a series of cover sleeveswith a holiday (Valentines Day) or special occasion (anniversary,engagement, birthday, etc.) theme.

In FIGS. 1B and 3B, the cover sleeve 10 further comprising means foraligning the cover sleeve 10 with the emergency personal help buttondevice 20A and 20C to insure that the button pressing portion 9 of thecover sleeve aligns with the emergency personal help button 30 beneaththe cover sleeve. In FIG. 1B, a demarcation 3 on the center of the edgeof the top opening 11 of the cover sleeve 10 aligns with the neck cord40 where it inserts into the emergency personal help button device. InFIG. 3B, a pair of demarcations on the edge of the top opening 11 alignwith the sides of the neck cord loop 21 on the emergency personal helpbutton device 20C. Other alignment means include a center seam on theback of the loop aligned centrally on the emergency personal help buttondevice, a semi-transparent stretch material used to fabricate at leastthe button pressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve to enable a user tosee through the button pressing portion 9 of the cover sleeve tovisually align the button pressing portion 9 with the help button 30below.

Means for signaling a user that the emergency help button has beenpressed properly through the cover sleeve to send a signal for emergencyhelp may comprise a sound chip or an LED or both which are activated bypressure or motion of a piezo-electric device or other sound producingand/or light producing mechanisms attached to the button pressingportion 9 of the cover sleeve 10, such as a pressure sensitive switch 2attached inside the cover sleeve 10 below the decorative emblem tactileinsignia 15, as shown in FIG. 4A to activate a sound and/or light deviceattached contiguously or in another location on the cover sleeve.

Preferred options for cover sleeve material include fancy thin SPANDEXor thin LYCRA or other stretchable fabric in a wide variety of colorsand designs and fancy SPANDEX fabric with sparkles, gold or silverthread, or shiny metallic thread designs.

The SPANDEX cover sleeve 10 may be further enhanced with flat ornamentalbeads or sequins or ornamental buttons 12 or lockets or charms orpendants 14 or any other decorative element each smaller than theemergency button 30 adhered to the button pressing portion 9 of thesleeve with special waterproof stretch fabric glue or sewn onto theoutside of the sleeve centered over the position of the emergency button30 so that the outside elements indicate visually as well as tactilelywhere the user presses on the cover sleeve to activate the emergencyhelp button below it.

Embellishment choices are many, including but not limited to embroiderymonogrammed on the front (or in a design of choice), embroidered logo'scan go on the front or back of the cover sleeve, a tag logo or messagecould be sewn on the back of the cover, a silk screen design can beprinted on the cover, a photograph (of grand children or husband orfamily or a pet) can be printed on the cover in the front or in theback. Different Spandex materials stretch differently, so there may be“adjustments” to the various covers to allow for stretch differentials

Other variations can be added to the cover sleeve 10 to enhance the lookand appeal in the form of characters. The cover sleeve can be decoratedlike a dog with the fluffy ears attached to the side of the sleeve,having a silk screen imprinted dog face on the cover; or angel wingsattached to the side of the cover sleeve to be the “guardian” angel withthe angel image imprinted on the cover sleeve.

There can be sets of three or more styled cover sleeves 10 in a packageof differently styled cover sleeves for mixing and matching with variousclothing styles or differently styled holiday or themed kits.

For men or women, a preferred embodiment may be a SPANDEX cover sleeve10 that has a silk screen printed or embroidered or ironed on patchdesign of an insignia such as sports teams (Red Sox), sportsparaphernalia (football 15 as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, baseball, golfball etc.), geographical location (Aruba, Jamaica, etc.), sportdesignation (NASCAR, NFL, NHL, etc.) or other insignia, (such as theembroidered initials 16, shown on a decorative pendant on a necklace inFIGS. 7A-7B). Insignia (especially sports insignia) would apply mostoften in the belt clip emergency help button device 20D of FIGS. 4A-4Cpreferred by men. On the belt clip, the cover sleeve 10 slides over thepersonal help button device 20D only, as indicated in FIG. 4A, and doesnot interfere with the clip's ability to clip onto to a belt or otherclothing edges.

In FIGS. 8-13, at least six generally preferred embodiments of thebutton pushing portion 9 of the present invention are shown.

In FIG. 8, and a selection of decorative covers of thin resilientmaterial 8 enable a user to feel the emergency push button 30 throughthe cover for pushing the button when needed.

In FIGS. 9A and 9B, an iron-on decal tactile insignia 15 in this examplein the shape of an oval frames cross, is ironed on the cover sleevefabric 8 an inverted snap or other solid thin metal disc 1 on the insideof the cover in the center of the button pushing portion 9, where anumber of teeth or prongs 1A pierce the fabric from the inside and arebent over the front of the fabric. The tactile insignia 15 is ironed onover that. That way when a senior or disabled person presses the iron-on(on the front of the cover) it is very easy to press the press buttonportion of the help button with the metal disc 15 contacting theemergency help button 30 beneath the fabric 8.

In FIG. 10, a white dot iron-on press button 2 on the cover sleevesurface 8 within the button pushing portion 9 serves as a visual (andtactile) indicator over the emergency push button 30 to enable findingpressing the emergency help button 30 when needed.

In FIG. 11, a see-through fabric 8B for visually locating the helpbutton 30 enables accurate locating and pushing of the emergency helpbutton 30 through the highly flexible stretch mesh or other patternedcover with more open space than fabric.

In FIG. 12, a die cut push button hole 9A in alignment with the casingsurrounding the emergency help button 30 leaves a full-open visual andmanual contact with the emergency help button 30 through the coversleeve fabric 8C.

In FIG. 13, a rhinestone embellishment 5 is attached in the center ofthe button pushing portion 9 to enable a user to easily see and feel thelocation to push the rhinestone which pushes the emergency help button30 beneath it.

Another embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22, comprises a custom pouch 10 for asmall GPS-mobile device 20G to make them look more like a decorativeaccessory. The pouch could come in many styles, colors, and withembellishments or fun iron-on decals, such as the football iron-ontactile insignia 15. The mobile solution uses GPS & cellular technologyand can used anywhere there is cellular service. This is truly a mobilesolution. A jump ring 7 may be attached to the GPS-mobile device 20G foruse in attaching a key chain or a neck encircling lanyard or necklacefor wearing the device to keep the emergency help button available atall times in any situation when needed.

A pocket can be sewn into some covers on the front and/or the back whichcan contain a house key, a photograph, a credit card, or ID.

The back of cover can have a sewn loop which can attach to a key ringfor a key to be attached. The sewn loop would be attached by a heavyduty snap.

A pocket can contain a little music chip which plays (reasonably loudly)a song of choice which can be activated by a small switch on the musicchip

The pocket can contain a small potpourri pouch with a favorite fragrance

The pocket can contain a small heavy gage pouch to contain medicine

An inverted snap is attached with the 5 prong backing to the insidefront of the cover and an iron-on decal design (with appropriate size tocover the snap) is ironed on over the backing of the snap on the frontside of the cover. When a senior presses the iron-on decal the snap nubunderneath touches the press button to activate that help is needed.

A decorative lanyard (like a chain or decorative beads) can be soldseparately depending on the size on the ring on the help button. Kitscan be sold to include a larger jump ring to be installed by someonewith reasonable dexterity or a jeweler. This jump ring allows thelanyard to attach to the help button. The lanyard is made of strongnylon, solid chain (base metal or precious metals at a premium price)and if beads are involved they will be knotted in between to prevent aslipping and falling accident if the lanyard should be broken. Thelanyard material must be strong and water resistant.

Covers come in many themes and Holiday themes are popular. Also sports,flowers, pets, initials, etc. Military, NFL, Red Sox, John Deere, etc.

In use, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4B two opposing sides of oneof the end openings 11 of the cover sleeve 10 are pulled apart, as shownby the horizontal arrows, and the personal help button device 20A, 20B,20C and 20D is pushed into the cover tube 10, as shown by the verticalarrow until the styled cover sleeve 10 conceals and camouflages thepersonal help button device 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D transforming thepersonal help button device into a styled clothing accessory with onlythe styled cover sleeve 10 showing around the outside of the personalhelp button device (shown dashed), as shown in FIGS. 1B, 2B, 3B, and 4C.

In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the procedure for installing the cover sleeve 10 onan emergency personal help button device 20C is illustrated showing theuser's hands (shown dashed) installing the cover sleeve.

To prepare for installation, the cover sleeve 10 and the emergencypersonal help button device 20C are both placed on a flat surface, suchas a table or counter top, aligned for installation adjacent to eachother with the front of the cover sleeve 10 having the decorativeelement 16 and button pressing portion 9 facing up and the front of theemergency personal help button device 20C having the emergency helpbutton 30 facing up. The cover sleeve 10 is positioned closer to theuser on the table with a top opening 11 of the cover tube close to thebottom of the emergency help button device 20C.

STEP 1: the user inserts a tip of one index finger into the top opening11A of the cover sleeve just enough to spread open the top opening 11Aas indicated by ARROW 1 in FIG. 7A to admit the bottom of the emergencyhelp button device 20C to fit into the top opening 11A of the coversleeve, leaving the bottom of the cover sleeve flat on the table.

STEP 2: the user pinches each side edge of the top opening 11A of thecover sleeve with a thumb and middle finger of each hand and pullsoutwardly on both sides, as shown by ARROWS 2 to stretch the top openingwider than the bottom of the emergency help button device while stillholding the top opening 11A open with the index finger of one hand, asshown in FIG. 7A.

STEP 3: the user pushes the emergency help button device 20C into thetop opening 11A of the cover sleeve with the other index finger pushingdown on the top 21 of the emergency help button device with the deviceflat on the table aligned with the cover sleeve top opening 11, as shownby ARROW 3, in FIG. 7A until the bottom of the emergency help buttondevice fits within the top opening 11 of the cover sleeve, as shown inFIG. 2, when the first index finger may be removed from the top opening11, while still pulling outwardly on both sides of the opening, ARROW 2as shown in FIG. 1 and still pushing down on the top 21 of the emergencyhelp button device with an index finger, ARROW 1 as shown in FIG. 1.

STEP 4: after removing the user's first index finger from the topopening 11 of the cover sleeve, the first index finger may be used topush the emergency help button device into the cover sleeve as indicatedby ARROW 4 in FIG. 2 to assist the other index finger ARROW 3, until theemergency help button device 20C is fully inserted into the cover sleeve10, as shown in FIG. 7C, and the cover sleeve button pressing portion 9having the personal adornment 16 attached thereon is aligned with theemergency personal help button 30 beneath the cover sleeve buttonpressing portion 9 to insure that pressing the cover sleeve buttonpressing portion 9 (and personal adornment 16) will press down theemergency personal help button beneath it to signal for emergency help,thereby forming decorative familiar clothing accessory in the form of apendant worn on a necklace for personal adornment, as shown in FIG. 3.

STEP 5: after the emergency help button device 20C is fully inserted inthe cover sleeve 10 and the cover sleeve button pressing portion 9 withthe personal adornment 16 has been checked for alignment with theemergency personal help button 30 underneath the cover sleeve, then thetransformed decorative personal clothing accessory having the concealedemergency help button must be tested by actually pressing the coversleeve button pressing portion 9 with the personal adornment 16 ispressed to press the emergency help button underneath and signal theemergency help service that the emergency help button works 30underneath the cover sleeve 10.

Styled cover sleeves 10 may be easily removed by holding an opposite endof a first styled cover sleeve 10 matching a first clothing style andpulling the personal help device 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D out of the firststyled cover sleeve 10 and inserting the personal help device into adifferently styled second styled cover sleeve to match a differentsecond clothing style.

In FIGS. 14-20, a universally adaptable styled combination cover sleeve10 and personal use accessory 80-100 is adapted to removably andinterchangeably cover and camouflage any of a variety of emergencypersonal help button devices 20 and adapted to transform each deviceinto a styled clothing accessory which is visually appealing andsocially acceptable to encourage wearing the styled clothing accessoryat all times, so that the personal use accessory is available to use fordaily personal use functions and the emergency help button is availableto signal for emergency help whenever it is needed.

At least one personal use accessory 80-100 is attached to the tubularcover sleeve 10, the personal use accessory matching the material andvisual appearance of the tubular cover sleeve to combine with thetubular cover sleeve to transform the personal emergency help buttondevice 20 into a styled clothing accessory adapted to be worn by a user,the personal use accessory adapted to be available to use for dailypersonal use functions.

The personal use accessory may comprise at least one of a variety ofdifferent personal use accessories taken from the list of personal useaccessories.

In FIG. 14, a pouch 80 with a top opening 81 hangs downwardly from thecover sleeve 10 and emergency personal help button device 20A forstoring necessary daily use items carried by a user. Hanging from thecover by a jump ring 7 and chain 6 (below it on the chest-belly of thesubscriber) is a small—light “change purse” like decorative pouch 80 ofthe same design as the cover which can contain, key, medicine, money,ID, credit card, etc.

Also in FIG. 14, a necklace 40, such as a decorative chain necklace orlanyard is attached to a top of the cover sleeve 10 for attaching thecombination cover sleeve and personal use accessory and coveredemergency help button device around a neck of a user. A jump ring 7,such as that shown to attach the pouch 80 at the bottom may also be usedat the top for attaching the necklace or lanyard, but any conventionalattaching means may be used such as having a gromet built into the coversleeve material.

In FIG. 15, a loop sleeve 100A is attached to the centor of the back ofthe cover sleeve 10 covering the emergency personal help device 20F toreceive a bracelet or wrist band attached to the cover sleeve 10 forattaching the combination cover sleeve and personal use accessory andcovered emergency help button device to a wrist of a user.

In FIG. 16, a jump ring 7 is attached to the bottom of the cover sleeve10 at attach a chain or other connecting means to the jump ring forattaching keys or a change purse or other personal user accessories tothe cover sleeve 10 housing the emergency personal help device.

In FIG. 17, a pocket 90 with a top opening 91 is attached to the coversleeve 10 on a back surface of the cover sleeve for storing necessarydaily use items carried by a user. The pocket 90 can be sewn into somecovers on the front and/or the back and can contain a house key, aphotograph, a credit card, or ID or other small item needed on a dailybasis carried by a person.

In FIG. 18, an alternate pocket 90 with a top opening 91 has a clearplastic face 92 on the pocket to allow an ID or photo to show throughthe pocket.

In FIG. 19, a bracket sleeve 100B is attached to a top portion of theback of the cover sleeve 10 for attaching the combination cover sleeveand personal use accessory and covered emergency help button device to abelt worn by a user.

In FIG. 20, a loop bracket 100C is attached to the top of the back of acover sleeve 10 for receiving a keychain attached to the loop bracket sothat the styled cover sleeve and personal use accessory comprises astyled keychain fob.

In FIGS. 21 and 22, a pouch-type of cover sleeve 10 with a single topopening 11 may be used for mobile devices which are medical alertdevices that use GPS & cellular technology. They can range in size butare generally about 3″ tall×2.5″ across (wide) and 0.50 to 0.75 thick.The pouch is meant to make it look more attractive in a purse or pocket.The pouch could also be used for a cell phone. Some of the “mobile”medical alert devices have a clip on them (others are just one smoothpiece) to be attached to pants waistband, pocket, purse, briefcase,duffle. The pouch would be able to slip “under” the retracting clippart. There is also button to press for help (on most) on this mobiledevice and I have decorative covers which have a gem embellishment overthe button to indicate where the press button is and to make it easierto press. The mobile devices can be used anywhere there is cellularservice. Many of the mobile devices are like a walky-talky and thesenior or person with a disability can communicate with the appropriatehelp as needed. The thin Spandex material would not hamper the voicecommunication. The pouches are available in all 6 styles (iron-on etc.)and would come in appropriate sizes depending on the given manufacturer.

The present invention thereby provides a universally adaptablecombination cover sleeve and personal use accessory adapted to removablyand interchangeably cover and camouflage any of a variety of emergencypersonal help button devices and adapted to transform each device into astyled clothing accessory which is visually appealing and sociallyacceptable to encourage wearing the styled clothing accessory at alltimes, so that the personal use accessory is available to use for dailypersonal use functions and the emergency help button is available tosignal for emergency help whenever it is needed.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by wayof illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that variousmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A universally adaptable styled combination coversleeve and personal use accessory adapted to removably andinterchangeably cover and camouflage any of a variety of emergencypersonal help button devices and adapted to transform each device into astyled clothing accessory which is visually appealing and sociallyacceptable to encourage wearing the styled clothing accessory at alltimes, so that the personal use accessory is available to use for dailypersonal use functions and the emergency help button is available tosignal for emergency help whenever it is needed, the cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory comprising, in combination: a decorativestretchable tubular cover sleeve configured to be adjustable, removable,and interchangeable when installed over any of a variety of emergencypersonal help button devices to cover and camouflage the device and totransform the device into a styled clothing accessory which is visuallyappealing and socially acceptable, the cover sleeve adapted to enablethe user to remove and interchange the cover sleeve with another coversleeve to transform the personal help button device into another styledclothing accessory having a different style to match a style of clothingof the user, to encourage wearing the transformed clothing accessory atall times so an emergency personal help button is always available topress for emergency help when needed, the tubular cover sleevefabricated of a highly stretchable thin material in the shape of a tubewith a stretchable opening on at least one end adapted to receive any ofa variety of emergency personal help button devices through thestretchable opening, the tubular cover sleeve stretchable openingadapted to contract closed over the emergency personal help buttondevice after receiving the emergency help button device therethrough, sothat the emergency personal help button device is concealed within thestyled tubular cover sleeve, the tubular cover sleeve fabricated of amaterial sufficiently thin and flexible to allow a compressibleemergency personal help button of the personal help button deviceunderneath the tubular cover sleeve to be distinguishable by touch andto be compressible through the tubular cover sleeve so that the coversleeve is adapted for pressing the emergency help button through thethin and flexible material of the cover sleeve; the tubular cover sleevefurther comprising a user distinguishable button pressing portion of thecover sleeve configured to be positioned over a compressible emergencypersonal help button on the emergency personal help button device withinthe tubular cover sleeve to further assist a user wearing thetransformed device to press the compressible emergency personal helpbutton through the button pressing portion of the cover sleeve to summonemergency help; at least one personal use accessory attached to thetubular cover sleeve, the personal use accessory matching the materialand visual appearance of the tubular cover sleeve to combine with thetubular cover sleeve to transform the personal emergency help buttondevice into a styled clothing accessory adapted to be worn by a user,the personal use accessory adapted to be available to use for dailypersonal use functions; thereby providing a universally adaptablecombination cover sleeve and personal use accessory adapted to removablyand interchangeably cover and camouflage any of a variety of emergencypersonal help button devices and adapted to transform each device into astyled clothing accessory which is visually appealing and sociallyacceptable to encourage wearing the styled clothing accessory at alltimes, so that the personal use accessory is available to use for dailypersonal use functions and the emergency help button is available tosignal for emergency help whenever it is needed.
 2. The combinationcover sleeve and personal use accessory of claim 1 wherein the at leastone personal use accessory comprises at least one of a variety ofdifferent personal use accessories taken from the list of personal useaccessories consisting of a pocket attached to the cover sleeve forstoring necessary daily use items carried by a user, a pouch hangingdownwardly from the cover sleeve for storing necessary daily use itemscarried by a user, a necklace attached to a top of the cover sleeve forattaching the combination cover sleeve and personal use accessory andcovered emergency help button device around a neck of a user, a jumpring attached to the cover sleeve for attaching a necklace to the jumpring for attaching the combination cover sleeve and personal useaccessory and covered emergency help button device around a neck of auser, a jump ring attached to the cover sleeve for attaching a lanyardto the jump ring for attaching the combination cover sleeve and personaluse accessory and covered emergency help button device around a neck ofa user, a bracelet attached to the cover sleeve for attaching thecombination cover sleeve and personal use accessory and coveredemergency help button device to a wrist of a user, a decorative wristband attached to the cover sleeve for attaching the combination coversleeve and personal use accessory and covered emergency help buttondevice to a wrist of a user, a loop bracket attached to a cover sleevefor attaching the combination cover sleeve and personal use accessoryand covered emergency help button device to a belt worn by a user, aloop bracket attached to a cover sleeve for receiving a keychainattached to the loop bracket so that the styled cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory comprises a styled keychain fob, a clip securedto the cover sleeve for attaching the combination cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory and covered emergency help button device to anarticle of clothing or attachment to a clothing accessory so that thestyled clothing accessory and personal use accessory comprises a styledclip-on clothing accessory.
 3. The combination cover sleeve and personaluse accessory of claim 2 wherein the styled tubular cover sleeve isfabricated of any of a variety of different materials taken from a listof different materials consisting of SPANDEX, NEOPRENE, NYLON, ELASTANE,a stretchable blend of materials, rubber, stretchable cotton, wovenfabric material combined with at least one concealed elasticized band ateach end, stretchable silk, silk material combined with at least oneconcealed elasticized band at each end, stretchable velvet, velvetmaterial combined with at least one concealed elasticized band at eachend, stretchable satin, satin with at least one stretchable opening ateach end.
 4. The combination cover sleeve and personal use accessory ofclaim 2 wherein the styled tubular cover sleeve and personal useaccessory further comprises any of a variety of outer surfaces takenfrom the list of outer surfaces consisting of a colored surface, apatterned surface, an indicia bearing surface, an image bearing surface,a textured surface, an imprinted surface, a combined surface, a naturalfabric surface, a styled surface, a coated surface, a painted surface, ametallic surface, a rumpled surface, a padded surface, a charactersurface, an embroidered surface, an iron-on patch surface and a sewn-onpatch surface.
 5. The combination cover sleeve and personal useaccessory of claim 2 wherein the styled tubular cover sleeve furthercomprises at least one personal adornment attached to the outer surfacetaken from a list of personal adornments consisting of at least one flatbacked ornamental bead, at least one sequin, at least one ornamentalbutton, at least one pendant, at least one locket, at least one piece ofjewelry, at least one jewel, at least one gem stone, at least one charm,insignia, sparkles, metallic thread, embroidery, mesh, netting, lace,formed character features, iron-on patches, sewn-on patches, hangingdangles, jump rings, chains, beads, at least one decorative hangingchain, at least one jump ring, and at least one clear faceted stone. 6.The combination cover sleeve and personal use accessory of claim 2wherein the styled tubular cover sleeve and personal use accessory arefabricated of a water tolerant quick drying material to enable washingthe material and to enable wearing the emergency help button with thecover sleeve in a shower or bath and in inclement weather so that theemergency button may be worn at all times by the user.
 7. Thecombination cover sleeve and personal use accessory of claim 1 furthercomprising a distinguishable element positioned on the button pressingportion of the cover sleeve over the personal help button to indicate toa user where to push on the cover sleeve to activate the personal helpbutton underneath the distinguishable element to signal for emergencyhelp, the distinguishable element having a size and shape equal to orsmaller than the personal help button to insure that the user will pushonly the personal help button and not push any other part of a casingsurrounding the personal help button.
 8. The combination cover sleeveand personal use accessory of claim 7 wherein the distinguishableelement comprises at least one visible element taken from the list ofvisible elements consisting of at least one printed indicia, at leastone embroidered indicia, at least one attachment, at least one patternvariation, at least one color variation, at least one shape variation,at least one texture variation.
 9. The combination cover sleeve andpersonal use accessory of claim 7 wherein the distinguishable elementcomprises at least one tactile element taken from the list of tactileelements consisting of at least one tactile fabric variation, at leastone texture variation, at least one added tactile material, at least onetactile decorative element, at least one tactile functional element. 10.The combination cover sleeve and personal use accessory of claim 7wherein the distinguishable element comprises at least one audibleelement taken from the list of audible elements consisting of at leastone sound producing finger heat sensing element, at least one soundproducing finger sensing light sensor element, at least one soundproducing finger detecting proximity sensing element to indicate audiblywhen in the dark or when a blind user's finger is adjacent to the buttonpressing portion of the cover sleeve.
 11. The combination cover sleeveand personal use accessory of claim 7 wherein the distinguishableelement comprises at least one combination element taken from the listof combination elements consisting of at least one visible elementcombined with at least one audible element, at least one visible elementcombined with at least one tactile element, at least one audible elementcombined with at least one tactile element, and at least one visibleelement combined with at least one audible element and at least onetactile element.
 12. The combination cover sleeve and personal useaccessory of claim 11 wherein the distinguishable element comprises atleast one personal adornment, attached to the button pressing portion onan outer surface of the tubular cover sleeve, taken from a list ofpersonal adornments consisting of at least one flat ornamental bead, atleast one sequin, at least one ornamental button, at least one pendant,at least one locket, at least one charm, raised insignia, sparkles,metallic thread, embroidery, mesh, netting, lace, the at least onedecorative element being smaller than the emergency button to permitease of pressing the emergency button without contacting a casingholding the button.
 13. The combination cover sleeve and personal useaccessory of claim 7 further comprising means for aligning the coversleeve with the emergency personal help button device so that the buttonpressing portion of the cover sleeve aligns with the emergency personalhelp button beneath the cover sleeve.
 14. The combination cover sleeveand personal use accessory of claim 1 wherein the emergency personalhelp button device comprises at least two emergency personal helpbuttons pressed simultaneously and the cover sleeve comprises at leasttwo button pressing portions each positioned over one of the at leasttwo emergency personal help buttons.
 15. The combination cover sleeveand personal use accessory of claim 1 further comprising means forsignaling a user that the emergency help button has been pressedproperly through the cover sleeve to send a signal for emergency help.16. The combination cover sleeve and personal use accessory of claim 1wherein a pouch-type of cover sleeve with a single top opening covers amobile device which is a medical alert device that use GPS & cellulartechnology.